Keep a glossary beside your project notes as you encounter technical terms in Chinese and English. Include the term in its original sentence, a diagram if useful, and the part you were discussing. A dictionary translation alone may not identify the component you need.
Tie the word to the part
Record a manufacturer part number when you can. Photograph the label and note the dimensions. A broad term such as “coupling” can cover parts with different geometries and uses, so keep the concrete example beside the translation.
Ask a classmate or instructor to check unfamiliar terms in context. Save the correction with the original note. Avoid presenting a machine translation as a quotation from another person; confirm the wording before you publish it.
Make the glossary usable
Group entries by the project that introduced them. You can add a subject index once the list grows. Include the source document and page so you can recover the surrounding explanation.
For a Field Notes article, choose a few entries that changed how you understood a mechanism or a drawing. Explain the specific misunderstanding and the correction. This demo suggests a working method and does not claim any particular classroom exchange.
Have a correction or a different result? Write to the editor.
